This unique course has been designed and developed to meet the needs of design and maintenance engineers in designing, analysing and maintaining aircraft

It presents the basic fundamentals of fatigue and fracture mechanics, as well as practical methods and case studies for meeting the durability and damage tolerance requirements.

The course consists of two main parts. Part 1 presents the basic theories of fatigue analysis and fracture mechanics, which is also suitable to automotive and civil engineers. Part 2 is designed to enhance the learning objectives offering specialist topics and case studies and exploring in greater depth. The course is focused largely on metallic aircraft structures rather than polymer composite aircraft.  A separate course on polymer composite aircraft structures is available - see "Design, Durability and Integrity of Composite Aircraft Structures".

At a glance

  • Dates
    • 12 - 16 May 2025
  • DurationOne week
  • LocationCranfield campus
  • Cost£1,535 The course fee includes refreshments and lunch during the day. Accommodation is not included and must be booked separately. Concessions available

What you will learn

  • An overview of design philosophies and good design practice for structural durability and damage tolerance of civil and military aircraft
  • An understanding of the principles and techniques of fatigue and fracture mechanics analysis, strength and service durability predictions
  • Worked examples and hands-on experience of solution methods and procedures in structural fatigue, damage tolerance problems and airworthiness issues in aircraft structures
  • Awareness of problem areas and regulatory requirements for fatigue and damage tolerant design in aircraft

Core content

  • Fatigue design philosophies
  • Regulatory background on civil and military aircraft
  • Requirements for fatigue and damage tolerant design
  • Damage tolerance and material selection - the role of strength level and toughness
  • Inspection threshold and inspection intervals
  • Requirements for NDT capability
  • Fatigue analysis methods
  • Linear Elastic Fracture Mechanics applied to static and fatigue failure
  • Calculation of fatigue crack growth lives
  • Computer based tools for life assessment - workshop session
  • Fatigue loading spectra
  • Fatigue and fracture analysis of commuter aircraft structures
  • Repair, Replacement and Regulations
  • Airworthiness lessons from Lusaka accident
  • Ageing aircraft structures - current regulatory position
  • Damage tolerance and widespread fatigue damage
  • Fatigue management strategies
  • Evolution of part 25 fatigue requirements
  • The course will incorporate a session on a retired Boeing 737 aircraft, viewing locations where fatigue cracks are known to develop in service

Who should attend

This course is suitable for:

  • Stress engineers, design engineers, and analysts
  • Research students and research engineers
  • Responsible senior managers and technical programme managers
  • Airworthiness and certification engineers
  • Maintenance and repair engineers.

Speakers

As well as benefiting from the expertise of a number of Cranfield academics who are experts in their field, you will also benefit from the expertise of invited external speakers.

  • Dr Wai Nang Chung, having acquired his Bachelor and Doctorate degrees in Mechanical Engineering at Imperial College London in 1990, Wai-Nang has been working in the aviation related field for more than 33 years. He started working in the design office of Airbus performing the damage tolerance calculations for the A321 wings, then he moved back to Hong Kong to join Cathay Pacific as a Technical Services Engineer. He later joined the Vocational Training Council in Hong Kong in 1995 and progressed up to Principal lecturer before joining the HAECO Group as the Head of Training in 2012. He involved heavily in course design for Aircraft Maintenance, acted as chairman of various working groups in the European Aviation Maintenance Training Committee. He also participated in different Advisory Committees for the universities in Hong Kong and the Hong Kong Government. He had been in the management role in the Higher Education and Aircraft Maintenance sectors for more than 15 years before his first retirement in 2021, he subsequently joined ÂãÁÄÖ±²¥ as Lecturer in Safety Engineering in 2023. He is a Chartered Engineer, a Registered Professional Engineer, and Member of the Institute of Mechanical Engineers and Hong Kong Institution of Engineers.

  • Dr Wenli Liu, Key lecturer in the Aerospace Vehicle Design group of the Centre of Aeronautics at ÂãÁÄÖ±²¥, leading research and teaching in F&DT of Aircraft Structures both for metal and composites. Wenli has gained broad knowledge and experience in aircraft design and structural analysis with the aircraft industry over the past 20 years and supported A400M and A350 wing design and analysis for Airbus and GKN.

  • Dr Alain Santgerma, Joined the Fatigue & Damage Tolerance department in Airbus in 1994 with a masters degree, and subsequently obtained his PhD from the French National Institute of Applied Sciences in 1997 (subject: Widespread Fatigue Damage). He worked on all life extension projects launched in Airbus, from A300 to A340. He has been involved in US and European Ageing Aircraft Working Groups for 15 years. As a Fatigue & Damage Tolerance expert, he advises on the design, certification and continued airworthiness of most Airbus products on topics such as major tests and analyses. Since 2007, he has been leading a transnational team dealing with stress policies & directives, fatigue spectra, and major test activities for all Airbus products. Today, he is involved in compliance demonstration to the Ageing Aircraft regulations.



Concessions

20% discount for Cranfield Alumni. 
10% discount when registering 3 or more delegates, from the same organisation at the same time.  

Accommodation fees are not included in the discount scheme. Please ask about our discount scheme at time of booking.

Accommodation options and prices

We are pleased to offer an exclusive accommodation package at our hotel. Located on campus, all rooms are en-suite and available on a half-board basis from Sunday to Friday. The cost of this package is £560.

If you would like to book our accommodation package for this short course*, please indicate this on your registration form. Alternatively you may wish to make your own arrangements at a nearby hotel.
*Subject to availability.

Location and travel

ÂãÁÄÖ±²¥ is situated in Bedfordshire close to the border with Buckinghamshire. The University is located almost midway between the towns of Bedford and Milton Keynes and is conveniently situated between junctions 13 and 14 of the M1.

London Luton, Stansted and Heathrow airports are 30, 90 and 90 minutes respectively by car, offering superb connections to and from just about anywhere in the world. 

For further location and travel details

Location address

ÂãÁÄÖ±²¥
College Road
Cranfield
Bedford 
MK43 0AL

How to apply

To apply for this course please use the online application form.

Read our Professional development (CPD) booking conditions.